Gyros seem to be getting trendy, even the fast food chains are putting them on their menus. Makes sense I guess since Gyro (pronounced YEE-roh) can be considered fast food meaning you can grab a sandwich and eat it on the go. Gyro meat can be either beef, pork, chicken, lamb, or a combination of these meats. The meat is usually ground up and cooked on a vertical spit then thin slices are shaved off as needed to make plates or sandwiches. Having grown up in New York City gyros have always been a familiar food, I remember seeing the big hunks of meat rotating behind a window at the corner deli or diner. Anyway trendy or not we love Gyros, specially beef gyros!

We always grab a gyro or two when we’re in Greece and sometimes in NYC, I mean it’s not like we’re going to set up a huge vertical spit and roast meat for hours. That’s why the Instant Pot is a great addition to my kitchen! I can make Beef Gyros anytime I have a yen for them. The beef gyros made in my Instant Pot tastes pretty authentic and can be made in about half an hour! Doesn’t beat a trip to Athens or Santorini, but it hits the spot!

The Beef Gyros I make in the Instant Pot are tender, juicy, and tasty; in short perfect! We slather the pita with homemade Tzatziki, a creamy cucumber yogurt sauce, then fill it with meat and veggies, delicious!

Here’s the recipe for Instant Pot Beef Gyros and Tzatziki Sauce, hope you love it as much as we do!

Directions:

Place all the ingredients except the Pita, Lettuce, and Tomato in the Instant Pot

Cover and make sure the valve is in the “Sealing” position

Turn pot on to Manual – high pressure

Set timer to 30 minutes

Once timer goes off allow the pot to sit for 15 minutes. Then switch the valve to “venting” and allow the pot to depressurize.

Remove cover and stir.

While you’re waiting for the meet to cook make your Tzatziki Sauce and prepare your veggies

Place shredded lettuce, sliced cucumbers, tomatoes, and onions on a dish and sprikle with Apple Cider Vinegar then set aside until ready to use

Tzatziki Sauce

Ingredients:

1 Cup Finely chopped cucumbers – remove seeds before chopping

1 Cup plain whole milk yogurt

2 Tbs Fresh Dill chopped

1 Tsp Garlic finely minced

1/4 Tsp Salt

Directions:

Take the cucumbers and squeeze out the liquid. Squeeze out as much liquid as you can.

Place cucumber in bowl and add in rest of the ingredients and mix very well.

Refrigerate until ready to use.

Sandwich assembly:

Cover pita bread with a damp paper towel and warm in the microwave for about 15-30 seconds

Place one pita bread flat on a piece of aluminum foil

Spread bread with Tzatziki Sauce

Place a layer of shredded lettuce over sauce

Remove desired amount of meat from pot and drain liquid then place over lettuce

Add cucumber, onion, and tomato slices on top then add more tzatziki sauce if desired

Roll sandwich and foil, use the foil to hold the sandwich together. Peel off foil as you eat.

You can also make a plate or bowl instead of a sandwich. Any left over tzatziki can be used a dip, just place in a dish or bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Dip pita chips in the sauce for a great snack or appetizer!

Place all the ingredients except the Pita, Lettuce, and Tomato in the Instant Pot

Cover and make sure the valve is in the "Sealing" position

Turn pot on to Manual - high pressure Set timer to 30 minutes

Once timer goes off allow the pot to sit for 15 minutes. Then switch the valve to "venting" and allow the pot to depressurize.

Remove cover and stir.

While you're waiting for the meet to cook make your Tzatziki Sauce and prepare your veggies

Place shredded lettuce, sliced cucumbers, tomatoes, and onions on a dish and sprikle with Apple Cider Vinegar then set aside until ready to use

Tzatziki Sauce

Take the cucumbers and squeeze out the liquid. Squeeze out as much liquid as you can.

Place cucumber in bowl and add in rest of the ingredients and mix very well.

Refrigerate until ready to use.

Assembly

Cover pita bread with a damp paper towel and warm in the microwave for about 15-30 seconds
Place one pita bread flat on a piece of aluminum foil
Spread bread with Tzatziki Sauce
Place a layer of shredded lettuce over sauce
Remove desired amount of meat from pot and drain liquid then place over lettuce
Add cucumber, onion, and tomato slices on top then add more tzatziki sauce if desired
Roll sandwich and foil, use the foil to hold the sandwich together. Peel off foil as you eat.

The humble green olive, you gotta love them! Olives and eating them have been around for thousands of years. Evidence of its cultivation and consumption dates back almost 6000 years to the Levant area in countries such as Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, and Crete. Olive oil has been traded since pre-Christian times. And I believe olives have been cooked and eaten in some way or another since then. I wouldn’t be surprised if they made Spicy Blistered Green Olives in a fire pit back in the day!

In fact my husband who was born in the Middle East in what is today known as the West Bank has many childhood memories of eating freshly roasted olives prepared by his grandmother during the olive picking season. To hear his stories one is led to believe that his grandmother prepared it in the centuries old way of roasting them over an open fire in the yard, the same place she made her flat breads.

Actually today we still eat olives prepared the same way pretty much as they were prepared way back then because you really can’t eat the fruit picked straight from the tree. Yes, olives are fruit not veggies, but fresh from the tree they are basically inedible. They’re bitter and have an unappetizing texture. To make olives edible they must be brined, roasted, or cooked in some way. Most of us in the US know only the brined or pickled olives that we find in cans and jars in the supermarket, or floating in a martini, rarely do we find fresh olives that we must prepare at home.

We’ve also “discovered” or really “re-discovered” that olives are healthy for us. A fact which was known thousands of years ago. Olives are packed with nutrients that have many benefits. Olives are heart healthy and has been shown to prevent heart disease; studies have shown that green olives can prevent osteoporosis; olives contain large amounts of antioxidants which help prevent certain types of cancers; they can help reduce Arthritis inflammation and pain; and they are believed to be natural treatments for ulcers. The list actually goes on so I think it’s safe to say that including olives and olive oil in your diet has positive health benefits.

Having said all that I know that not everyone is overly found of olives and I doubt there’ll be a mad rush to buy barrels of brined olives. So here’s a recipe inspired by my husband’s stories about his grandma’s roasted olives that might help you like olives enough to include them in your diet. I call them Spicy Blistered Green Olives, but unlike the grandma I cook them on my stove and not outside in an open fire; although if you have a fire pit you might want to give it a go!

Spicy Blistered Green Olives are delicious! You can eat them hot or cold, they make awesome appetizers, and terrific snacks. I usually leave a bowl of Spicy Blistered Green Olives on the table and everyone who walks by can’t help but pop an olive or two in his mouth each time they walk by.

Aside from the fact that they’re simply yummy and have positive health benefits these Spicy Blistered Green Olives are super easy to make. They are a healthier alternative to chips, cookies, and other carbohydrate laden snacks out there. So here’s the recipe!

This Shrimp Scampi Cheese Dip made it’s debut on our Thanksgiving Menu last year, the family loved it so much it’s now one of our faves. We make it all the time for our Sunday night barbecues and even when we entertain. Our guests love it just as much as we do!

It’s really simple to make and so yummy! We used crostini for dipping, we like the crunch, but you can use fresh baguettes or whatever you like. I’d avoid salted crackers though, the butter and cheeses have enough salt and dipping salted crackers may get too salty.

But do keep extra ingredients on hand, you may have to make a second bowl when you have company!

Ingredients:

8 oz. medium shrimp – peeled and roughly chopped

4 tbls. salted butter

1 tbls. minced garlic

1/2 cup white wine (if you prefer non-alcoholic you can substitute chicken broth for the wine)

1 tsp. fresh lemon juice

4 oz. cream cheese softened

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup grated fresh parmasean cheese

1 1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Melt butter in pan.

2. Saute garlic in butter until it turns slightly brown.

3. Add shrimp and saute until shrimp starts to turn pink.

4. Add wine. Stir well and continue cooking until shrimp is cooked.

5. Remove from heat and squeeze on lemon juice. Stir.

6. Stir in cream cheese, sour cream, parmasean, and 1 cup of the mozzarella. Reserve the 1/2 mozzarella for topping. Mix very well.

7. Pour into oven safe baking dish – you will be serving it in this dish. I ran out of pretty oven safe dishes so I ended up using an aluminum pie tin.